Jeff Blashill back as U.S. Men's National Team head coach

Jeff Blashill (Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.), who just finished his fourth season as head coach of the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings, will serve as the head coach of the 2019 U.S. Men’s National Team it was announced today by USA Hockey.

It marks the third straight year for Blashill at the helm of the U.S. Men’s National Team, which will compete in the upcoming IIHF Men’s World Championship, set for May 10-26 in Kosice and Bratislava, Slovakia. Blashill has guided the U.S. to a a combined 14 wins in 18 world championship games (12-2-0-4/W-OTW-OTL-L), including a bronze medal finish a year ago and a fifth-place effort in 2017.

Blashill will be joined by assistant coaches Dan Bylsma (Grand Haven, Mich.), John Hynes(Warwick, R.I.) and Kevin Reiter (Pittsburgh, Pa.).

“It’s terrific to have Jeff back coaching our national team,” said Chris Drury (Trumbull, Conn.), general manager of the 2019 U.S. Men’s National Team. “He’s an excellent leader and is well-versed on what it takes to be successful on the international stage. We’re also fortunate to have a terrific group of assistant coaches and support staff that will represent us well in our ultimate goal of bringing the gold medal home to the United States.”

In addition to his previous stints as head coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team, Blashill also served as the goaltending coach for the 2009 U.S. National Junior Team Team as well as an assistant coach for the U.S. Junior Select Team that won the 2009 World Junior A Challenge and the U.S. Under-18 Men's Select Team that earned second place at the 2006 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.

Prior to becoming head coach of Detroit, Blashill spent three seasons within the Red Wings' organization as head coach of its AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapid Griffins. In 2012-13, he led the Griffins to its first Calder Cup championship in the 17-year history of the franchise.

Blashill joined the Red Wings' organization after 11 seasons in the collegiate ranks and two seasons in the United States Hockey League. A goaltender in his playing days, Blashill's coaching career began as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Ferris State University, from 1998-2002 before fulfilling the same role at Miami University for six seasons (2002-08). He then made his head coaching debut with the USHL's Indiana Ice, compiling a 72-43-5 mark as head coach and general manager while guiding the Ice to a franchise-record 39 wins in 2008-09 and Clark Cup title as playoff champions of the USHL. After two seasons in Indiana, Blashill returned to the NCAA as the head coach at Western Michigan University in 2010-11. In one season with the Broncos, he led WMU to double its win total from the previous season and also to the school's first appearance in the CCHA championship game since 1986.

About Bylsma

Dan Bylsma, who recently finished his first season as an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings, is representing the U.S. as a coach for the fourth time. The head coach of the 2014 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team in Sochi, Russia, Bylsma most recently served as an assistant coach for the bronze medal-winning 2018 U.S. Men's National Team, a capacity he also held for the 2015 bronze medal-winning U.S. Men’s National Team. Bylsma, who won the Stanley Cup in his first season as head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins, currently ranks first all-time among Pittsburgh bench bosses with 252 wins he accumulated during his six seasons with the organization (2008-14). He also served two seasons (2015-17) as head coach of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres.

About Hynes

John Hynes, who just finished his fourth season as the head coach of the New Jersey Devils, has a long history of representing the U.S. on the international stage. Most recently, he served as an assistant coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team that participated in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and that same year was the head coach of the U.S. entry in the IIHF Men's World Championship. In addition, Hynes served as head coach of the U.S. Under-18 Men's National Team on three occasions, leading the U.S. to gold in 2006, silver in 2004 and bronze in 2008. In 2004, Hynes, who spent six seasons (2003-2009) as a head coach at USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program, helped the U.S. to its first ever gold medal in the IIHF World Junior Championship as an assistant coach. Hynes joined the Devils after six seasons with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins of the AHL, including five as head coach. In his time behind the bench, Hynes, the 2011 AHL Coach of the Year, accumulated a 231-126-27 record. Hynes also spent time coaching at the college level, serving as an assistant coach at UMass-Lowell in 2000-01 and at the University of Wisconsin in 2002-03 after beginning his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Boston University, his alma mater.

About Reiter

Kevin Reiter, who serves as the director of player personnel for USA Hockey's National Team Development Program, is making his debut as an assistant coach for the U.S. Men’s National Team. An assistant coach for the bronze medal-winning U.S. National Junior Team at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship, Reiter was USA Hockey’s National Goaltending Coach before assuming his current role as director of player personnel. He played four seasons of college hockey (2000-04) as a goaltender for the University of Alaska Anchorage before embarking on a seven-year professional playing career.

Support staff

USA Hockey also announced today the support staff for the 2019 U.S. Men's National Team, including team leader Marc Boxer (Colorado Springs, Colo./USA Hockey); video coordinator Adam Nightingale (Cheboygan, Mich./Detroit Red Wings); athletic trainers Stan Wong (Boca Raton, Fla./USA Hockey) and Piet VanZant (Livonia, Mich./Detroit Red Wings); equipment managers Scott Aldrich (Colorado Springs, Colo./USA Hockey) and Chris Scoppetto (Parkland, Fla./New Jersey Devils); team physician Dr. Doug Weiss (Dublin, N.H./USA Hockey); massage therapist Peewee Willmann (Hannover, Germany/USA Hockey) and senior director of communications Dave Fischer (Colorado Springs, Colo./USA Hockey).